News, reviews and think pieces about dance and performance art for aficionados and newcomers by long-time national and local critic.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..

Orpheus Descending Intiman Theatre Festival, through August 2, 2015 at 12th Avenue Arts By Alice Kaderlan Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending is an odd choice for Intiman’s first production this summer. It’s a dense play with confusing opening sections that lack dramatic power. Even when the players’ characters and their story become clear – it’s a […]
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Saughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Book-It Repertory Theatre, through July 3, 2015 By Alice Kaderlan Slaughterhouse Five is not an easy book to dramatize. Kurt Vonnegut’s powerful anti-war novel is a blend of fantasy and fact; it works brilliantly on the printed page but takes great imagination to bring to the stage. One of the biggest […]
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Threesome, by Yussuf El Guindi ACT, through June 28, 2015 By Alice Kaderlan There’s an old adage in the theater that “if you want to send a message, use Western Union.” That was never really true but it’s even more inaccurate today when successful theatrical productions routinely deal with such topics as mental illness, homosexuality, […]
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Pacific Northwest Ballet, through June 7, 2015 By Alice Kaderlan One of the most notable aspects of Alexei Ratmansky’s “Concerto DSCH” is that the dancers look at each other. In so many ballets – contemporary as well as classical – the dancers gaze off into the distance as if captivated more by empty space than […]
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W’him W”Him Through May 31, 2015, Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center By Alice Kaderlan It’s very exciting to watch a young dance company grow in skill and sophistication and that’s precisely what’s happening with Whim W’Him. The company’s latest outing, a program called X-Posed, is the troupe’s most polished to date, offering three works that are […]
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Cabaret Village Theatre, Issaquah through July 3, 2015, Everett July 10-August 2, 2015 By Alice Kaderlan Cabaret is a musical with bite. The brilliant team of John Kander (music), Fred Ebb (lyrics) and Joe Masteroff (book) took compelling stories by Christopher Isherwood and turned them into the stuff of legend. Since the show’s Broadway premiere […]
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Jeeves Intervenes Taproot Theatre, through June 20 By Alice Kaderlan Bertie Wooster may be the most ridiculous fictional character ever created and his butler Jeeves his most perfect foil. Together the two dominate the uproarious stories of P.G. Wodehouse and whether appearing in print, on TV or in live theater, they never fail to delight. […]
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Jasper in Deadland 5th Avenue Theatre, through May 24 By Alice Kaderlan The teenage years can be deadly, literally and figuratively, and both are true in the new musical Jasper in Deadland. In the 5th Avenue’s lively production, the Orpheus story from Greek mythology has been updated to the present time but there’s also a […]
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Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..